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Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia

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The Straits Times. (2026, October 18). Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/trump-bashes-zelensky-defends-waiving-sanctions-on-russia

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-18 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

On October 18, US President Donald Trump defended his decision to waive sanctions on Russia through an executive order signed on October 16, citing negotiations for peace between Russia and Ukraine. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of deliberately prolonging the war by targeting Russian refineries to impact fuel prices in the US ahead of November elections. Trump’s comments have further strained relations with Kyiv amid criticism from allies over the sanctions waiver aimed at lowering global diesel costs.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 16, 2026, US President Donald Trump waived sanctions on Russian diesel and other oil-related exports, reversing actions he had taken just weeks earlier to impose new restrictions as part of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. This decision has drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans who argue it undermines efforts to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. President Trump's move aims to lower diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections but has strained relations with Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration that his country has not received enough support from the US despite significant sacrifices in the ongoing conflict. The waiver also weakens economic sanctions meant to compel Russia to end its war in Ukraine and could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appears to have gained a strategic advantage over Trump through this political maneuvering. Critics argue that Trump's actions could jeopardize future leverage against Moscow, potentially undermining long-term US foreign policy objectives regarding Russia.

Written for “Trump Pauses Russia Sanctions” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 63 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Pauses Russia Sanctions
Politics · 64 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
64
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

AFP Russia Russian Ukraine WASHINGTON

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 8× Russia GPE · 7× Zelensky PERSON · 4× Ukraine GPE · 3× AFP ORG · 2× Russian NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Ukrainian NORP · 1× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Oct 18 defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
2026-10-18 · The Straits Times
Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

Trump bashes Zelensky, defends waiving sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Oct 18 defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, while once again accusing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to end the war. asserted
Trump → bash → war
I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. asserted
Trump → negotiate → platform
The remarks come after Trump signed an executive order late on Oct 16 waiving broad new sanctions mandated by legislation named for the late US senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s defence. asserted
Trump → come → defence
Trump has also temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large quantities to flow into global markets in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of US elections early next month. asserted
quantities → waive → elections
The diesel deal was met with shock by Kyiv and its allies, and sparked a feud between Trump and Zelensky that has seen their roller-coaster relationship plummet again. asserted
relationship → meet → Trump
“Great progress is being made” in talks on the war, “and that includes current hostage negotiations asserted
that → make → negotiations
!” Trump said. asserted
Trump → say → ?
“Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!” he said, though it was unclear to what document he was referring. Asked for more clarity on the statement, the White House did not immediately respond to AFP. “Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way,” Trump added. uncertain
Trump → sign → way
He then reiterated his accusation that Ukraine was purposefully targeting Russian refineries to attempt to hurt the Republican Party in the Nov 3 midterm elections. asserted
Ukraine → reiterate → elections
Polling shows Trump’s party heading for a likely drubbing in the elections, with many voters deeply upset by fuel costs, which have soared since the Iran war began in late February. asserted
war → show → February
“Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → use → States
“Zelensky doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” he added. asserted
he → care → war
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